Blogging > Studying

Hey guys,

Question #1.

With tomorrow's test looming large on the horizon, am I currently...

A) Playing Mario Kart 64 on my computer

B) Listening to Nujabes/Non Phixion Radio on Pandora

C) Reviewing grammar patterns and new vocabulary

D) Watching episodes of "Lost" on hulu.com

E) A, B, and D

I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourselves.

For my parents' sake I'll have you all know that I've already looked over this weeks lessons and feel prepared to take on the test tomorrow. Unlike some other Thursdays, which sometimes get pretty hectic, I've got a bit of free time on my hands today. It's so hard to believe that a week from now I'll be sitting in my room studying up for the FINAL EXAM. Speaking of finals, I was just talking to my Yale roommate Nick earlier today who is also studying here in Beijing - he's doing the Duke in China program. Unlike us HBA kids, this was their last week, so he's probably buried in 语法 and 生词 right now. I certainly don't envy that, but I am a little jealous he'll be heading back to his family within a few days.

Since I landed in Beijing, my attitude has constantly oscillated between loving Beijing and wishing I was back home (maybe that's a little bit off - I would say it wasn't until the second or third week that I felt really comfortable here). But ever since then I've managed to slog through all the school work while exploring some of China's most impressive sites on the weekends and during the social study week. It hasn't really hit me yet, but I think I'll start to realize next week how much I'll miss this place and all the fun I've had with all the teachers and students. It's a strange thought that I might never see some of these teachers ever again once I head back to the States, but there's no doubt that I'll never forget them.

In terms of the whole missing home aspect, I think I've reached a new level of awareness regarding my own age/maturity. I'd like to think I'm a pretty independent kid - someone who isn't fazed by attending college miles away from home or spending a summer on the other side of the planet - and while I would say that is the case to a degree, I think I've still got some room to grow as far as taking on the real world is concerned. I think this is especially reflected in my current indecisiveness toward my major/potential career paths, as well as the fact that I was really homesick for about the first ten days here in Beijing. But like I said in an earlier post, not being certain about the future isn't a bad thing as far as I'm concerned, and I think the fact that I have some maturing to do before I graduate college makes me even more excited to take advantage of my next three years at Yale.

But anyway, it's right around dinner time here so I'm going to head out. This weekend is bound to be pretty frenzied, what with our gongfu performance at Beijing Night on Saturday and the speech contest on Sunday. I'll have my hands full to say the least, but I'd like to get in another post before next week, so stayed tuned.

T-minus one week,

Jamey